


Form VI (Niman)

by AlexTirZeng



Series: Turns of the Hourglass [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Bultar Swan (Mentioned), Gen, Introspection, Jedi Culture Respected, Jedi Culture Worldbuilding, Mace Windu (mentioned) - Freeform, Obi-Wan Kenobi (mentioned) - Freeform, Plo Koon (Mentioned) - Freeform, en media res
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:28:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26619706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexTirZeng/pseuds/AlexTirZeng
Summary: Lightsaber forms were more than just combat techniques - they were arts, philosophies, pieces of culture, and so much more.A Jedi Padawan contemplates Form VI and what it means to her.
Series: Turns of the Hourglass [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936501
Kudos: 25





	Form VI (Niman)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I still don’t own Star Wars
> 
> Hello lovely readers! So, you guys can thank the folks over at Jedi Appreciation for this. We were talking about lightsaber forms and it gave me the itch to write some. That being said, this fic is written from an OC’s PoV and begins En Media Res, and if that’s not for you, I completely understand.
> 
> Nella Var is actually an OC I created for An Hourglass in Zero Gravity, but she’s getting to debut early because 1: I love her, and 2: I thought she’d be a great fit for this kind of piece. If any of you are worried about spoilers for Hourglass, I wouldn’t worry too much. This is written so you can imagine it takes place in either the original timeline OR the post-time travel timeline; the only thing that might be considered a spoiler is what lineage she belongs to.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy! And as always – if you’re an eligible American citizen, please register to vote!

“ _But_ ,” Nella wondered to herself as she tightened her grip on her lightsaff - purple hands against bronze metal and black duraplast, “ _what was Niman?”_

She’d been asking herself that question ever since she’d decided on a ‘saber form, which meant by now it had been _years_. It wasn’t that it didn’t suit her; Niman worked best with more than one blade, and having built herself a lightstaff instead of a lightsaber, it had seemed the obvious choice at the time.

The trouble came because that hadn’t been why she’d chosen it. In fact, it was almost as if she’d chosen a lighstaff because she’d chosen Niman _,_ not the other way around. So it didn’t answer the question of “why Niman?” much at all. The not knowing was driving her crazy.

She shifted into Niman _’_ s opening salute. _“Start at the beginning, Nella_ ,” she told herself. _“Start with the first kata.”_

Nella was an inquisitive girl by nature. She liked to understand things - to pick things up and look at them from all angles. She liked having reasons and being able to explain them, even if the reasons were as simple as a “why not?” Lightsaber forms, with their fluid kinesis, were no different.

Of course, the reasons meant nothing if they weren’t honest, especially when reasoning with herself. “Why not?” was _not_ the reason she’d chosen Niman, and so it meant nothing here. 

_“What about a metaphor?”_ she asked herself as she moved onto the second kata. She liked metaphors. _“What is Niman telling me, in terms I can understand?”_

Maybe it lay with the other lightsaber forms. Niman, at its core, being an amalgam of the others, told that all ‘saber forms came from the same place. One entity, many limbs. Maybe she could follow a limb back to the body.   
  


Yes. That was a good idea.

When it came to seeing masters of different lightsaber forms up close, Nella had been lucky from the minute she’d been taken as a padawan. Her grandmaster was on the Council - and much to the amusement of Master Bultar - she’d taken to pestering him about his and his colleagues’s thinkings. After all, they were the masters of the masters, and all with their unique takes! Who better to ask?

So she knew that Vapaad wasn’t the aggressive form it was made out to be. If anything, she thought it more to be passivity used for offense (which was _fascinating_ , and she’d love to ask Master Windu what he thought of her take) - more like using someone’s weight against them in a throw, or like when she was washed a spoon at the wrong angle and shot the water back up at her face. 

Like all Jedi padawans, she knew Soresu was about defense, but it hadn’t been until she’d gotten to see Master Kenobi spar in person that she’d _gotten it_. It wasn’t just about defense, it was about being as close to untouchable as possible for as long as possible until your opponent slipped up and functionally stabbed themselves on your blade. It was like being hydrodynamic - letting the current cut around you - or even letting the current pass _through_ you. 

_“So, water it is.”_ She smiled to herself as she slid into the third kata. _“Water’s your metaphor. What is Niman_ _to the water?_ ”

Perhaps… Perhaps Niman was like riding a current instead of directing it. A constant dialogue with the water, moving your limbs at the whims of your surroundings instead of against it. Perhaps Niman, with its many arms and many pieces, was about taking advantage of where a fight took you instead of trying to push against it - ducking and weaving and riding the riptide until you were in still waters again.

Perhaps it was a diplomat’s ‘saber form for a reason.

(Perhaps it could be a teacher’s too.)

**Author's Note:**

> And that’s a wrap! Really, this was just intended to be a short piece to explore my Jedi culture headcanons and practice writing Nella. It was fun for me to write, and I hope it was fun for you to read.
> 
> The only note I really have is what I changed about the Vapaad and why. As cool as it is isolated of context, it always made me uncomfortable that the only Black Jedi we see invents a lightsaber form variant known for aggression and has ~edgy~ implications about flirting with the darkside. I’m just… no. No way. Mace Windu deserves better than that. 
> 
> That being said, I didn’t want to take away the absolutely momentous achievement of single-handedly inventing an entire form variant from Mace (I feel like that would be racist too), so I tried to redefine it to be more racially sensitive. I hope I did okay! That being said, I’m not Black, and if you think I could handle this better (especially of you’re Black!) please let me know. I’m 100% open to critique, suggestions, and concrit on this. 
> 
> I also have an old concept art drawing of Nella over on my deviantART! That said, she’s gone through some design updates since then – which I really need to get on drawing. 
> 
> That’s all for now! Have a good one!


End file.
